So what did marchetta intend with krystle twin plot!

So she began the story but what did she want? Now I know she only wrote it to start something she knew she was never going to finish but what did she think could happen in the plot?! Like with Moldavia she only thought up to shooting everyone but her involvement in krsytle twin is under discussed

She did not remember anything about storyline after storyline in that interview, so there is not much value in it frankly. The only thing she was certain of was that DYNASTY became the #1 show because she came on board (funny how her memory works). The person asking the questions revealed a lot more in the questions themselves and their knowledge of the show's bible.

I think the twin Krystle idea was probably the Pollocks idea. Remember they came from a background of Daytime Soap, which the first half of Season 6 most closely resembles with its slow pace and repetitive scenes. As Marchetta says, Dynasty's production most closely resembled the daytime model of all the night time soaps.

I also remember an interview with the Pollocks, when they admitted they thought Krystle was boring and they were having trouble thinking of what they should do with her - and came up with the evil twin as an antidote to that.

The evil twin showed up again in Spelling's Sunset Beach and there are obvious parallels with the Rita plot.

DYNASTY went from the most honest and grounded 80s soap in season 1 to the wildest and least reality based in later seasons, for better (ratings) or worse (quality). So given DYNASTY by the end of season 5, am evil twin could work. But the team at the helm of the show in 6A could not make anything work--it wasn't just that the Rita storyline sucked--all of them did. As we have discussed in the forum a lot, Rita wasn't that different from Krystle in the end especially in how Evans played both.

DYNASTY went from the most honest and grounded 80s soap in season 1 to the wildest and least reality based in later seasons, for better (ratings) or worse (quality). So given DYNASTY by the end of season 5, am evil twin could work. But the team at the helm of the show in 6A could not make anything work--it wasn't just that the Rita storyline sucked--all of them did. As we have discussed in the forum a lot, Rita wasn't that different from Krystle in the end especially in how Evans played both.

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Although I'd argue that the descent into unreality actually caused the sudden crash in ratings, as opposed to helping it; the audience liked the casting and the glamour, but a hyperbolic environment physically doesn't have to mean the kind of "camp" they slipped into as a way of avoiding competent storytelling. And once the audience realized the show wasn't going to do anything un-stupidly, they took off.

And, yes, and evil twin could work, but, as you point out, execution is what matters... and Linda, having already drifted into her post-SAD squeaky acting style, played both Krystle and Rita squeakily.

"All man's miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone" -- Pascal

In most of the evil twins/doppelganger plots I've watched (and that's quite a few), the story was NOT dreamed up as a legitimate extension of existing plots. It was included purely as a "love letter" to the actor or actress who plays it. In many cases they will hire an actor who turns out to be really good in a role that does not totally suit their talents. Knowing the twin plots cause a lot of buzz (and often earns the actor or actress an award for the double duty), they will dream up a dual role plotline*. In some cases the twin becomes a permanent fixture of the show (if the actor is able to keep up that pace), but in most cases it's a temporary plotline that gives the actor a chance to shine, and of course create all sorts of improbable-but-addictive drama that people expect from soaps.

As only a casual viewer of Dynasty I cannot really opine about the causes and effects in the Rita plot, but I can recall how the lead actors on Knots (in the same period) were jousting for screen time, lobbying producers for storylines that would allow them to get more screen time. I can only imagine similar activity on the sets of the other soaps. Perhaps Rita was a case of "be careful what you ask for," when they tried to give LE something "meatier" to play, only it did not live up to expectations for whatever reason. It sounds a lot more fun on paper than it played on screen. Of course I still enjoyed the parts viewers are supposed to like in these stories--the "Rita trying to play Krystle" scenes, the "Oops, that was Rita's mask slipping" moments, the parts where Rita would mock Krystle's mannerisms (with an undercurrent of LE mocking herself)--but having sit through so many of these stories done better elsewhere, I was left comparing it to others in an unfavorable light.

Perhaps Rita was a case of "be careful what you ask for," when they tried to give LE something "meatier" to play

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Well, if that was going to happen then it was mostly in her pre-Krystle scenes, before the kidnapping. And to me, that really felt like Linda Evans trying hard to play a different character. It wasn't disastrous, but also nothing to write home about.
Btw, Rita was not an evil doppelganger. Sammy Jo had to convince her that it would work, and then Joel changed the plans.

Nevertheless, some scenes turned out to be quite effective, mostly that famous staircase moment.

In most of the evil twins/doppelganger plots I've watched (and that's quite a few), the story was NOT dreamed up as a legitimate extension of existing plots. It was included purely as a "love letter" to the actor or actress who plays it. In many cases they will hire an actor who turns out to be really good in a role that does not totally suit their talents. Knowing the twin plots cause a lot of buzz (and often earns the actor or actress an award for the double duty), they will dream up a dual role plotline*. In some cases the twin becomes a permanent fixture of the show (if the actor is able to keep up that pace), but in most cases it's a temporary plotline that gives the actor a chance to shine, and of course create all sorts of improbable-but-addictive drama that people expect from soaps.

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That was more or less the case here. The show did not know what to do with Krystle/Linda Evans, but the show claims the viewers were invested in Blake/Krystle. Actually, I think their real research was that up until 1984 Linda Evans was a very popular actress. So they wanted to keep her happy (she did threaten to leave the following year), but Esther Shapiro also claims that Evans was set in the way she played Krystle and Rita was a way to break the mold. But Rita was like Krystle even in scenes when she wasn't imitating Krystle, not only when she did (and Rita was not supposed to be that good of an actress anyway). What is even more interesting, is how Joel and Rita talked of the air and the blue blood qualities Krystle had as the rich Carrington, when 4 years earlier Krystle was struggling to find a way to communicate with Joseph as a working class intruder in the mansion. I found this turn of events so ludicrous, it was more painful than the Rita/Krystle mess. Clearly Evans had changed the way she portrayed Krystle and it had become this stilted character that had no resemblance to who she was in season 1 and season 2. Also, Krystle in the attic was just miserable for the character and even more so for the viewers.

Btw, Rita was not an evil doppelganger. Sammy Jo had to convince her that it would work, and then Joel changed the plans.

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And that is the main problem of the storyline. Rita was like a caricature of Krystle instead of being an evil version of her. It's only when Rita did a few horrible things that she was interesting. And in those scenes (like the staircase moment that you mentioned) Linda Evans was great.

If they don't make the two characters/versions different enough from one another, then the "acting challenge" part of the stunt isn't there. Granted, it falls on the actor to create a lot of the distinctions, especially when the "impersonation" phase of the story (when there is one) places them in the other character's clothes/styling/mannerisms. I can't really pass judgment on how LE played the two roles (I don't remember enough of it) but I have seen versions of these stories where the actor/actress just nails the subtle differences, inventing many differences on the fly and creating a genuinely unique character independent of the original, not just a knock-off version in a wig and a bad accent. Some actors can make it impossible for the viewer to believe it's one person doing both parts.

If they don't make the two characters/versions different enough from one another, then the "acting challenge" part of the stunt isn't there

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Whatever it was the actress wanted to achieve isn't really my concern, I'm only interested in what happens on-screen.
Like I said, not much thought went into creating "Rita", the wig and phoney accent seems to be an accurate description of events.
Whether that was due to the writers unwillingness or Evans' incapacity, I don't know. Maybe a combination of both.

We're talking Dynasty season 6, almost hitting rock bottom with their awful Moldavia aftermath. Therefore the very idea of subtle nuances is optimistic, to say the least.

The alternative, more evil Rita probably would have been played with lots of un-subtle devious smiles - oh look at me, I'm so evil! - and I honestly don't think that would have improved the situation.
Instead we got two Krystles, maybe not how it should have been, but at the same time there's something very bizarre about that situation.

Dynasty's season 6A would have been a lot worse off without Sammy Jo's wicked masterplan.

Let's face it: the Pollocks thought Krystle was "boring" (as they had Alexis say, but Eileen Pollock said it in the press) and "only pretty when she smiles" (which they had Alexis say). So, since Linda was "a tigress" about defending the way she wanted to play Krystle (ie, not cheat on Blake) they decided to instead place Krystle/Linda on ice for a year, and have Linda/Rita do crazy things for shock value -- boring shock value, especially if you had to sit thru the damned plotline for 3 1/2 months as it played out in primetime.

And their original intention was for Rita to stay in Krystle's place for 25 episodes (later reduced to 10 or so after public outcry, then blaming it all on Linda).

Obviously, this wasn't a meaty gift to Linda, but a slap in the face -- and, no, she didn't like the plot nor did she arrive it herself... Clearly, when they had Krystle's place usurped by a lookalike (shades of Bo) and in the same year had Alexis' sister turn out to be a trashy society writer (shades of Jackie) the agenda was similar to MGM forcing Elizabeth Taylor to play a husband-stealing ho in BUTTERFIELD 8: art imitating life.

Another show could have pulled it off, yes. Valene almost did the same thing while frying those crabs. But Linda Evans was the kind of actress for whom less is more, and doing a bravura dual role wasn't going to work -- especially when she couldn't believe in the storyline -- with a subtle nuance of differentiation between Krystle and Rita....

So I say make Rita more vulgar and Skoal-chewing, more trailer park, and also cut her hair. And further reduce it down to 4 episodes.

Of course, as everyone knows, I want Alexis to hire Joanna Cassidy to play yet another double almost right away -- one who runs around Denver masquerading as the Second Mrs Carrington doing humiliating things, forcing Krystle to offer yet another public denial and thus allowing Alexis to mock her over Krystle's paranoid delusions of multiple impersonators.

I swear I'd do it.

Last edited: Jul 1, 2018

"All man's miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone" -- Pascal

Absolutely. Maybe it was also the story that worked against both Krystle and Linda Evans. Once she was firmly established as a Carrington (season 3 onwards) there was no more "less" to play.
Hm, maybe there was, if they really wanted to, but the show became more and more plot driven.